I met Ken back in 2018, when he attended my Fuji travel photography workshop and stayed behind after the seminar to chat with me about my posts of Muntinlupa’s Bayanan sunrise. It turned out he works in the City’s Tourism and Culture Office and was quite amused that the city was my favorite sunrise shooting place. It was a very pleasant first time meeting that eventually led to many weekend shoots and joint tourism-related projects for their office. Over time, I saw great potential in Ken’s photography and admired his attitude on learning so, when I became a part of Zone V in 2019, I invited him. When attended Zone V’s 2019 Christmas party, he says he was immediately impressed by the group’s professional but friendly attitude and when the POTY video was shown, that really made it clear for him why it makes sense to join Zone V. He hopes that being in Zone V will help him improve and grow as a photographer.

Ken’s interest in photography goes back to 2014, when he saw a photographer friend browsing through images that were shot with a mobile phone. From that encounter, his path in photography began, with mobile shooting and self-study. Ken is saving up to buy a new set of digital gear and dreams of one day, winning in a renowned international photo competition. He would like to shoot different places here in the Philippines. On top of his priorities now is completing his bachelor’s degree, which took a backseat during his years of “growing up”. Ken says he is funny, a fighter, and ambitious.

I met Manny through our network in the Philippine Harvard Alumni community; we are both graduates of the university’s Kennedy School of Government, so we share interests in Philippine development and governance. Manny is currently Executive Director at AIM’s TeaM Energy Center for Bridging Leadership. It was during a mutual friend’s birthday dinner last November, that I learned, we also shared the same interest in travel and photography. I learned that he attended the FPPF Basic Photography Workshop in 2013 and wanted to find a venue for practicing what he learned. Right then and there, I invited him to join Zone V, knowing that our group would be able to give him a conducive platform.

Manny’s interest in photography started in 2003 after buying prints of the UK’s landscapes with his first visit to the country. Since then, he has become a hobbyist photographer from his many travels, particularly from his recent experience of living in the UK for the past 3 years. Manny would love to revisit Italy and head to Matera as he is fascinated with heritage sites as subjects for photography. Being an urban researcher, he has also taken a keen interest in document and urban photography. Joining a photography club such as Zone V is Manny’s goal to be part of a group, that shares his interest in photography and to learn from the country’s best photographers. Manny describes himself as sociable, adaptable and practical.

WELCOME TO ZONE V KEN AND MANNY!